A word from the Chairman

Firstly, the People's Choice competition will close for entries next Tuesday sharp so don't delay entering your colour and monochrome entry, and you can enter any image you want irrespective of whether they have been in a club competition before.

The format will be member scoring as opposed to the knockout format we've had in the past and we are planning that you can view the images online at home beforehand - you've got to come to the meeting to vote though!

It was pleasing to note that I've received complements on how enjoyable the AGM was, David has written an article below. As we didn't get any volunteers for programme secretary, David Hardy has offered to chair a programme committee of five people. Thanks to David and all who volunteered for this. Also thanks to David Royle who is stepping down from the committee but has offered to act as external competition secretary. 

I would like to thank Michael and David for all their hard work on the committee over the last 3+ years. They have done many other things aside from being programme and comp secretaries and have been a key part of making our club a success.

Thanks all from me, off now to process images from yesterday's trip to New Brighton.

David

2024 AGM

This week we held our first Wilmslow Photography Club Annual General Meeting. It was well attended by members.

Chairman

The evening was kicked off by our Chair David Higton updating us on the past years activities. setting up the new club, the new venue, the new equipment... and so on. David went on to congratulate all the members who through their enthusiasm and hard work had made this first year a very enjoyable and entertaining experience for all our members.

Competition

There was an update from myself on the competition season showing various statistic on the past year's competitions. I also had the great privilege in presenting the Photographer of The Year trophy to this winner David Higton.

Finance

We were update by the treasurer Vincent on the current finances, which we were informed are in good shape going into the next season. 

Program

We were also updated on the status of the remainder of the season, and on the coming season's program by Michael, although michael was keeping who the speakers he has booked very close to his chest so as not to spoil it.

Next week's Meeting

WPC Members Evening 30th April.

Next week sees the last Members evening of the season, as usual we have a wide variety of speakers and subjects. There should be something to appeal to everyone.

A meeting of two halves… The first half of this meeting will be a talk by Ann Howarth, who creates beautiful cyanotypes. She will bring examples of her work, and her mistakes! The talk will include of a brief history of photography and the history of the cyanotype and its various applications.

After the break,

Lesley will be showing us the panel of images with which she gained her LRPS accreditation with another group before joining our club.

Fiona will then follow, with a talk entitled “The Versatility of a Smart Phone Camera".

Finally Ian Wilson will take us on a photographic tour of the Cairngorms.

Bill S

Port Sunlight & New Brighton

Thursday saw club members venture out on a photo trip to Port Sunlight & new Brighton. This was organised by Margaret Green, thank you Margaret for another informative and well organised trip out.

The day started a little wet, that fine drizzle. having said that it soon dried up, although the sun was a little shy in showing itself.

After spending time wandering around the Lady Lever art gallery, we then set off to explore the picturesque village of Port Sunlight snapping away as photographers do.

We all met up in the cafe by the art gallery for some well earned refreshments. After we were suitable refreshed we continued the day by travelling of to New Brighton.

I had never been to some of the areas of New Brighton Margaret had suggested visiting. The street art was amazing, with so many murials, sorry murals by local artists. Your head seemed to be on a constant swivel, catching a new piece of art on every corner.

Some images from the day

Finally we all met up again for refreshment in the sea front Floral Pavilion cafe. This was the time to refuel and compare notes on the days adventures.

Finally I would like to thank Margaret from all of us on organising a fantastic and really enjoyable day out.

Abstract sailing photo-opportunity

The event where I captured my abstract sailing has come around again. The event takes place at the Marina Lake in West Kirby, at the far end from the town.  I plan to visit on Friday 3rd of May however I may go on another day if the weather doesn't look great I may go on another day.  I was thinking of meeting for a brew at Hannah's Cafe at 10am. It's opposite the station and the address is 4 Acacia Grove, West Kirby, Wirral CH48 4DD and it is about a 10 minute walk to the Marine Lake from there.  Hannahs do serve an excellent breakfast however if you wish to partake, please get there earlier so as not to delay the others.  If you wish, you could meet us at the Marine Lake, we should be there at about 10:30 - 10:45am.  There are plenty of places to eat in WestKirby for lunch.

If you want to go another day, or are going on the 3rd May regardless of whether I go. Here are tips to help you make some images.

If you want to join me, please let me know at chair@wilmslowphotoclub.org.uk or wilmslowphotographyclub@gmail.com. I can then confirm the date nearer the time.

Cheers,  David

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Equipment

70-200 mm lens full frame equiv (I used my 18-135mm on APS-C sensor camera)
a range of neutral density filters (ideally 3, 6 and 10 stop) or variable ND
polarising filter
clothing suitable for the weather

Technique

0.5 – 1 sec exposure
Move camera up or down, not side to side
Move from the waist for ICM
Bland background – location
Don’t crop too close
Make sure you focus
I also capture raw images as the images will need editing, particularly contrast and cloning out of objects.

The picture below shows the best places to stand it works better with bland, uncluttered backgrounds.

Here is an good opportunity, if you feel inclined, to dip a toe into the world of L&CPU competitions.

It's free to enter so why not!

L&CPU Individual Competition

Annual Individuals Competition 2024

Saturday 18^th May & Sunday 19^th May

You are cordially invited to prepare and submit your entries for the Annual Individuals Competition

This competition is held ‘in camera’ and is not open for audience viewing.

This is the L&CPU Annual event, where all club members are invited to choose and enter their images, in the following sections:

·         PDI - there are two categories in this section - Open (which includes colour & monochrome) and Nature.

·         Prints - there are three categories in this section - Open Monochrome, Open Colour and Nature

Can I please request that prints are collated and then submitted by your club competition secretary or another person in identifiable club print boxes; otherwise, the team sorting the prints have to try and manage individual print boxes and ensure that the correct prints go into the correct boxes - which can cause confusion

Full rules & guidelines for both competitions will follow but below is a summary of key dates:

Online entry for all sections

Opens

Saturday 30 March 2024

Closes

Saturday 4 May 2024

Prints

Drop off point information will be sent to your Club Competition Secretaries